PREFACE. Vll. 



mode of Angling, and the Art itself having re- 

 ceived many improvements since Mr. Nobbs 

 wrote on the subject, it has been suggested to 

 me, that a Treatise on Jack-fishing, written by a 

 modern practical Troller, would be very accept- 

 able to the lovers of Angling in general. In conse- 

 quence of such opinions and suggestions (in which 

 I fully coincide, as I cannot agree with the Rev. 

 MosES Brown, or any other writer on this sub- 

 ject, that the Art had arrived at the highest state 

 of perfection, under the esteemed Father of An- 

 glers, Isaac Walton ; seeing that that gentle- 

 man himself says, in his Preface, that Angling is 

 so like Mathematics, that it can never be fully 

 learned), and having had much practice and ex- 

 perience in every method pursued in taking both 

 Jack and Pike with the angle, with the advan- 

 tage, also, of a residence, for several years, near 

 one of the best Rivers in England for Trolling; I 

 have presumed to offer my opinions and instruc- 

 tions, as a guide to those who may be desirous of 

 learning how to take Jack and Pike in a fair, 

 pleasing, and sportsman-like manner ; and in order 

 to prevent the possibility of misunderstanding the 

 direction given for baiting the hooks, &c., I have 

 illustrated those directions with cuts, executed 

 under my own immediate inspection ; and have, 

 also, endeavoured to convey my instructions in so 



